AWOL Georgie wants our troops to stay in Iraq...without the proper armor.

[Guest Harry Hope]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-louise-slaughter/our-soldiers-deserve-armo_b_56611.html

 

July 17, 2007

 

Our Soldiers Deserve Armor -- And Answers

 

By Rep. Louise Slaughter

 

In yesterday's USA Today expose on the ignored pleas from troops in

the field for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles to

protect from the growing threat of IEDs, we learned of a heartbreaking

statistic that "'621 to 742 Americans' who would have survived

explosions had they been in MRAPs rather than Humvees."

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20070716/1a_iedcoverxx.art.htm

 

It's an issue that I have long been troubled with in this mismanaged

war.

 

In January 2006, I grew concerned after reading an article in The New

York Times that revealed sole-source contracts that had been issued to

contractors that had significant issues in delivering the vehicles to

Iraq, including one, Force Protection "that had never mass-produced

vehicles."

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/06/politics/06cnd-armor.html?ex=1184817600&en=765b8844d22fd4b3&ei=5070

 

In light of this shocking report, I demanded answers from the

Department of Defense's Inspector Generals (IG) Office on the

procurement policies for body armor and armored vehicles, specifically

asking them to focus on the sole-source contracts issued to Armor

Holdings, Inc. and Force Protection, Inc.

 

Last week the first of those reports was released by the Pentagon on

the "Procurement Policy for Armored Vehicles."

http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=835&Itemid=1

 

The 49-page report details how the Pentagon regularly violated federal

procurement policies in order to justify the sole-source awards to AHI

and FPI.

 

The IG documented that senior military officials wanted to

multi-source the contracts, but that they were overruled by a Task

Force report to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

 

As a consequence of these sole-source awards, AHI and FPI regularly

failed to get the vehicles to theater.

 

Those companies were rewarded with additional sole-source contracts

despite delays in providing vital armor or broken equipment arriving

in Iraq.

 

Twice in the report, the Inspector General writes that the problems

"increased risk to soldiers' lives."

 

The 15 sole-source contracts issued to these two companies were worth

a total of more than $2.2 billion.

 

From the beginning, these contracts should have raised more questions

as decisions for procurement from other companies were overruled at

some of the highest levels of the Defense Department.

 

Force Protection was unable to meet production deadlines even after

the Pentagon paid $6.7 million to build up their capability.

 

The results were unsurprising and tragic.

 

Armor Holdings sent cracked equipment that had been painted over, and

even two armored left doors for the same vehicle, instead of one right

and one left.

 

All of this put our troops in greater danger all while these companies

continued to receive additional contacts.

 

This report and the fine reporting from USA Today and The New York

Times unearths more questions than answers.

 

Our soldiers deserve nothing less than best equipment and answers to

why they are not receiving it -- and we are determined to get them

both.

 

___________________________________________________

 

Do you agree, rightards?

 

Harry